1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a side facing, multi-passenger divan assembly to be installed within an aircraft so as to provide for the comfortable seating of two or more passengers. More in particular, the divan assembly of the present invention is configured to achieve a substantially strong yet lightweight assembly, and to meet the stringent safety and impact requirements for aircraft use set forth by the Federal Aviation Association (FAA), which are enforced utilizing a variety of specialized test procedures and criteria.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of art relating to aircraft interiors, and in particular, to custom aircraft seating, seating devices referred to as divans are typically employed to accommodate one or more passengers within the aircraft. Specifically, divans are generally couch-like structures whereby one or more passengers can comfortably sit in a less formal, customized environment different from that typically utilized in commercial, passenger aircraft. Moreover, as divans are typically installed within private jets and aircraft having a customized aircraft interior, the orientation of the divan within the aircraft can often vary, with many divans being installed in a side facing orientation.
Despite the extensive customization available for aircraft interiors, including the varied use of seating structures such as divans, to develop a relaxed, attractive and/or functional environment, all articles used within aircraft interiors must still qualify as airworthy pursuant to the uniform regulations of the FAA. As a result, each installed article must undergo extensive FAA certifications and testing before they are authorized for utilization on an aircraft. To this end, the FAA is continuously updating and/or enhancing its test procedures directed towards newly installed components, often increasing the required criteria for passing a test to well above those levels set for prior devices.
Along these lines, two significant test procedures which divans, and in particular side facing divans, must undergo and pass, either independently or simultaneously, include: (i) the xe2x80x9cpitch and roll deformationxe2x80x9d test, wherein the divan must not fail under certain specified pitch and roll conditions, and (ii) the xe2x80x9clongitudinal impactxe2x80x9d test, wherein passenger to passenger contact must be avoided upon the exertion of a longitudinal force on the divan. Indeed, these test procedures, as well as the many others, are continuously being updated, with the criteria required for passing the tests being continuously increased. As a result, it is becoming more and more difficult to provide a lightweight divan assembly which meets of all of the requirements of comfort, size and convenience, but which also passes all of the test criteria. Moreover, as the test procedures are generally defined independently from one another, in most instances a manufacturer seeking to develop a new seating design cannot merely develop a new seat design in response to only one test procedure and criteria of particular importance, but rather must take all test procedures and criteria into account in every new design. This is primarily because, in many instances, modifications designed to make an assembly pass with respect to one set of test criteria, will often result in failure as to other test criteria that had previously been passed by the basic design.
Looking in particular to the requirements associated with passing the longitudinal impact test and avoiding passenger to passenger contact, this test generally involves the positioning of a corresponding number of passenger-like models on a divan assembly in an appropriate seating location (i.e. two passenger models for a two passenger divan). The divan assembly is then propelled longitudinally towards a rigid stop, thereby resulting in the longitudinal impact and subjecting the divan assembly and the passenger models thereon to a longitudinal force. During such a test procedure, the responses of the passenger models are studied in order to identify the extent of contact between adjacently positioned passengers, ensuring that nothing more than incidental contact takes place. For example, in the most traditional divan assemblies, an arm rest structure is typically positioned and independently secured to the aircraft at opposite ends thereof. As a result, when the impact force is exerted on the divan assembly, the passenger model closest to the side of impact will generally be driven into the arm rest, which serves to restrain the forward motion of that passenger. The adjacent passenger model, however, is driven towards the first passenger model and as there is no intervening arm rest to restrain its forward motion, significant injuries could result to both passenger models. As a result, in order to pass the required FAA test criteria, it is necessary to provide a divan assembly which can effectively avoid anything more than incidental contact between the adjacent passenger models, while also taking into account other practical consideration, such as size and weight.
Accordingly, it would be highly beneficial to provide a side facing, multi-passenger divan assembly which is configured so as to minimize and/or completely avoid contact between adjacent passengers during an FAA longitudinal impact test, thereby passing the FAA test criteria. Still, however, it would also be beneficial to provide such an assembly which is not substantially oversized, so as to dramatically increase the overall weight thereof, which would make it impractical for use with the intended number of passengers and which would make the assembly more vulnerable to failure with regard to other test procedures. As can be appreciated in all aircraft, weight and sizing is of critical importance, as the aircraft cabin has limited dimensions and the weight thereof can directly impact the operation of the aircraft, including economic variables such as fuel consumption.
Looking to the second of the many FAA test procedures used at least for side facing divan type assemblies, namely the pitch and roll deformation test, the FAA test criteria required for passage of this test are directed particularly towards applying stresses to the divan assembly itself in order to determine its susceptibility to breaking and/or other failures under certain conditions. To this end, the pitch and roll test procedure typically required by the FAA involves the simultaneous deflection of a portion of the divan assembly to a predetermined pitch angle, along with the application of a predetermined amount of roll to another portion of the divan assembly. For example, in the currently utilized FAA test procedures for a side facing divan, the front end of the divan assembly is subjected to a 10 degree pitch deformation between a first and a second side thereof. Simultaneously, the rear portion of the divan assembly is subjected to a 10 degree roll. Moreover, in some instances, the deformed divan assembly may be subjected to an impact force.
To compound the difficulty of the above-described test procedures, the tests are conducted relative to the weakest configuration of the divan assembly, that is, to the xe2x80x9cworst case scenario.xe2x80x9d As a result, if the divan assembly is re-enforced merely so that it meets the required test criteria when positioned in a certain orientation, the FAA requirements necessitate that further testing be performed from a different orientation which has become the weakest configuration. Accordingly, the rigorous test requirements necessitate that the divan assembly be made to pass the FAA test criteria regardless of the orientation in which the divan assembly is positioned.
Again looking in detail to the pitch and roll deformation test, the primary purposes of such a test is to ensure that the components of the divan assembly do not fail, such as through breakage or other gross deformations defined by the FAA. As a result, this test procedure necessitates that the manufacturer sufficiently strengthen the divan assembly, while still taking into account the size and weight requirements generally associated with aircraft equipment. Therefore, it would be beneficial to provide a side facing divan assembly which is able to sufficiently meet test criteria associated with the pitch and roll deformation test, regardless of an installation orientation, while still maintaining optimal size and weight characteristics.
Because of the severity of the described test procedures, presently in the art many custom component manufacturers have turned to the utilization of traditional single passenger chair type devices, which independently meet the FAA test criteria, arranged in a side by side orientation so as to provide a multi-passenger divan assembly. Naturally, such side by side positioning of a plurality of single passenger divan assemblies is not desired, as the individual re-enforced designs are typically heavier than necessary and lead to an overall larger and heavier multi-passenger divan assembly than is optimal or desired. In addition, the storage space available underneath divan assemblies that are formed from a plurality of single passenger aircraft seats is limited as it is interrupted by a plurality of legs, and for instance is, therefore, not capable of stowing a life raft as would be another type of divan assembly. Accordingly, it would be highly beneficial to provide a multi passenger, side facing divan assembly which is capable of passing all of the many stringent FAA test procedures, while also minimizing the overall dimension and weight characteristics thereof and preserving the storage space available underneath the assembly.
The present invention is directed to a side facing, multi-passenger divan assembly for an aircraft, and preferably, for custom installation in an aircraft. In particular, the divan assembly includes a seat pan support assembly, which preferably defines the primary seating surface on which passengers will sit. Moreover, the seat pan support assembly preferably includes a front end, a rear end, a first side, and a second side, and defines a plurality of passenger seating zones. The specific number of passenger seating zones corresponds the number of passengers which the divan assembly is intended to accommodate safely. Also preferably, the spacing between adjacent passenger seating zones is generally at least about 27 inches from center to center of the adjacent passenger seating zones. Such a preferred spacing functions to reduce the likelihood of passenger to passenger contact upon a longitudinally directed impact force being exerted on the divan assembly.
The divan assembly further includes a seat back assembly. The seat back assembly is operatively coupled with the seat pan support assembly, and preferably extends generally vertically upward therefrom. As a result, the seat back assembly provides a comfortable backrest for passengers seated within the respective passenger seating zones, and can also be configured to further contribute to the minimization of passenger to passenger contact under an impact.
Extending downwardly from the seat pan support assembly into secure engagement with an underlying support surface of the aircraft is a base assembly. In particular, the base assembly is preferably secured to a seat track structure, conventionally secured to the support surfaces of the aircraft, in order to provide for a fixed, stable mounting of the divan assembly with the underlying support surface. The base assembly itself preferably includes at least two forward support members disposed on opposite longitudinal sides of the divan assembly, generally at the front end thereof. Likewise, the base assembly also preferably includes at least two rear support members extending downwardly from opposite sides of the seat pan assembly, at generally the rear end of the divan assembly. As a result, a first forward support member and a first rear support member are disposed a spaced apart distance from one another at generally the first side of the seat pan support assembly, while a second forward support member and a second rear support member are disposed a spaced apart distance from one another at generally the second side of the seat pan support assembly.
Extending generally from each forward support member towards the corresponding rear support member is a cross support assembly. The cross support assembly is particularly structured so as to resist compression of the forward support members and the rear support members towards one another, such as during the previously described, FAA pitch and roll deformation test. For example, during a conventional pitch and roll deformation test, one side of the divan assembly will tend to be deformed such that the forward and rear support members tend to compress and/or move towards one another, while at the opposite side of the divan assembly the forward and rear support members tend to expand and/or become more spaced apart relative to one another. Accordingly, during the test procedure, the cross support assemblies of the present invention respond to the forces exerted thereon, resisting compression of the forward and rear support members towards one another, when applicable, and permitting generally free expansion of the forward and rear support members away from one another, when applicable.
As such, the cross support assembly reinforces and strengthens the side of the divan assembly which is being compressed so as to prevent buckling and/or breakage of the structure. Conversely, on a side of the divan assembly wherein the expansion takes place, the cross support assembly allows the generally free expansion, thereby preventing the cross support assembly from working independently to resist the expansion, which would make it more susceptible to breakage and/or detachment from the individual support members. This is especially beneficial in the case of a more elongate multi-passenger divan assembly, as the extent of the deflection is greater under a normal pitch angle, and a substantial expansion is exhibited.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more clear when the drawings as well as the detailed description are taken into consideration.